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An alliance of U.S. home appliance manufacturers, energy and water efficiency organizations, consumer groups and environmental organizations have agreed to improved efficiency standards and tax policies for refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, clothes dryers, dishwashers and room air conditioners. The agreement could save enough energy to meet the total energy needs of 40 percent of American homes for one year and the amount of water necessary to meet the current water needs of every customer in the City of Los Angeles for 25 years, the partners believe. Further, global warming CO2 will be reduced by 550 million metric tons over the same time period, without considering the emissions reductions from smart appliances. The partners have called for new national minimum efficiency standards, production tax credits for super-efficient appliances, and the inclusion of smart grid readiness as a feature of future ENERGY STAR qualified appliances.

We got the opportunity to interview the three leading teams in the EcoCAR Challenge namely Mississippi State University, Virginia Tech and Pennsylvania State University. These are the future leaders in the alternative energy transportation industry and it shows in their enthusiasm.

The Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize is a huge undertaking involving Establishing a venue, staffing, training, developing tests, setting up Consumers Reports Certifications, and taking over the Michigan International Speedway in the outback, near a small town named Brooklyn in our fair State of Michigan.

Innovative technological ideas that originate from small American manufacturing companies often go unrewarded. Why? Because often those companies don't have the ability to take their innovations to the world through an aggressive exporting program.

The West County Wastewater District, located on the San Francisco Bay, provides wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal services for several cities and parts of Contra Costa County. In adopting solar energy, the agency was interested in the long term cost-saving benefits a solar PPA afforded and its no-money down approach. The solar PPA was an excellent solution: the wastewater district pays only for the power the system produces, does not incur operation and maintenance expenses, and sees savings on its electricity bill for the next twenty years-a plus for the District's ratepayers.

Al Gore is upset that Capitol Hill lawmakers are cutting $1.5 billion in renewable energy project loan guarantees to help fund state aid legislation aimed at preventing teacher layoffs and covering Medicaid costs. Renewable-energy groups are furious over the latest raid on the Energy Department loan program, which was also the source of $2 billion in funding for the "Cash for Clunkers" rebates a year ago. "These rescissions put into jeopardy the green jobs that the administration has touted as part of our clean-energy future and put us further behind the rest of the world," Gore said on his website Monday afternoon. The House is slated to vote Tuesday on the $26 billion state aid package the Senate approved last week. Gore said the underlying state aid bill is important legislation, but believes the loan-guarantees cut is the “wrong way on renewables.” Source - E2Wire

The Bio-Bug has been converted by a team of British engineers to be powered by biogas, which is produced from human waste at sewage works across the country. They believe the car is a viable alternative to electric vehicles. Excrement flushed down the lavatories of just 70 homes is enough to power the car for 10,000 miles - the equivalent of one average motoring year. This conversion technology has been used in the past but the Bio-Bug is Britain's first car to run on methane gas without its performance being reduced. It can power a conventional two litre VW Beetle convertible to 114mph. Mohammed Saddiq, of sustainable energy firm GENeco, which developed the prototype, claimed that drivers "won't know the difference". Source - Telegraph.co.uk

Solectria Renewables, in partnership with Outpost Solar, provided two (2) 13kW PVI grid-tied inverters for the 20.16kW system installed at Richland, LLC in Pulaski, Tennessee. Outpost Solar's parking area solar arrays combine function and form by integrating electric vehicle (EV) charging. Outpost Solar strategically decided to incorporate the EV charging stations to accommodate the growing EV market. The solar array will generate over 24,000 kWh of electricity annually which will be used to charge the EVs. The parking area is 55' long and 32' wide and will accommodate 12 electric vehicles. The commissioning ceremony was attended by U.S. Congressman, Lincoln Davis, Pulaski Mayor, Dan Spear, and Pulaski Electric System President, Wes Kelly as well as representatives from Solectria Renewables and Outpost Solar. Congressman Davis is a strong supporter of renewable energy projects and was extremely proud to take part in the ceremony and activate the array. Source AltEnergyMag

Instead of spending millions to widen roads, the Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment company is developing a "3D Express Coach" (also called a "three-dimensional fast bus") that will allow cars less than 2 meters high to travel underneath the upper level carrying passengers. According to China Hush, the 6-meter-wide 3D Express Coach will be powered by a combination of electricity and solar energy, and will be able to travel up to 60 kilometers per hour carrying some 1200 to 1400 passengers. The first 115 miles of track is set for construction in Beijing's Mentougou district starting in late 2010. The Chairman of the Huashi Future Parking Equipment company boasts it will take only a year and 500 million yuan (around $73 million) to build the futuristic transportation system. Source: Huffington Post

Japan's Panasonic Corp plans to buy out subsidiaries Sanyo Electric and Panasonic Electric Works for up to 818.4 billion yen ($9.4 billion) to strengthen its push into greener businesses. The world's No.4 flat TV maker will raise up to 500 billion yen in a new share issue to help finance the buyouts, sending its shares down as much as 11 percent. Under President Fumio Ohtsubo, Panasonic has been shifting away from low-margin home electronics products and investing more aggressively in solar cells, batteries and other energy-related areas which offer promising growth prospects. Panasonic said making the two subsidiaries wholly-owned would allow it to more effectively allocate management resources across the group as well as speed up decision making amid growing competition from overseas rivals.

Ontario has been the recipient of numerous accolades lauding its aggressive renewable energy legislation and hospitable investment climate. However, some worry that despite all of these advances, Ontario is not doing everything in its power to make green technology a priority.

Suppose you are living in a large city and take the decision to stop using a privately owned vehicle and rely instead upon a shared car, public transport, or bicycling. Assuming you had off-street parking, what is the best use of your former parking space: gardening or solar electricity?

As environmental awareness and the trend toward the adaptation of sustainability practices become common in corporate America, the academic world is placed in a unique position to make a significant contribution to this trend by providing education and training that responds to this trend.

Prior to joining MP2 Capital as Managing Director, Jeff was a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers in Hong Kong, where he served as Head of Asia Technology Investment Banking and worked with many of the solar industry's leading panel and module suppliers. Mr. Glavan has more than 12 years of investment banking experience in corporate finance covering leading technology companies, and has advised clients on over 100 transactions including private placements, IPOs, follow-on equity offerings, high yield and convertible debt financings, and M&A and other strategic advisory transactions.

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